Friends of Montclair Library

Happy December! If you’re looking for an original way to count down the days till Christmas with your child, check out this tutorial from Inhabitots about how to make a simple, eco-friendly advent calendar using books. Acquire 24 used holiday-themed books (check thrift stores, library book sales, Berkeley Parents Network, Freecycle and used book stores; use ones you already have; or even check them out from the library) and wrap them up with numbered tags. Bonus points if you use recycled, reusable or repurposed wrappings. Then open and read a seasonal bedtime story every night. You can use the same books year after year or swap them out as the kids get older. Genius!

Some new and old favorites to get you started:
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore
A Pirate’s Night Before Christmas by Philip Yates
Olive, the Other Reindeer by J.otto Seibold and Vivian Walsh
Auntie Claus by Elise Primavera
The Christmas Tomten by Viktor Rydberg
The Nutcracker by Susan Jeffers
A Small Christmas by Wong Herbert Yee
Minerva Louise on Christmas Eve by Janet Morgan Stoeke
The Twelve Bots of Christmas by Nathan Hale
Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney
Olivia Helps with Christmas by Ian Falconer

What are some of your favorite holiday books? If you celebrate a December holiday other than Christmas, please share books for your favorite holiday, too.